Cold Climate Wines from Quebec's Brome-Missisquoi Wine Route

Immediately north of Vermont lies a wine region that is relatively unknown to most American wine consumers. It is the Brome-Missisquoi Wine Route located in the Eastern Townships, Quebec Province. This 85 mile route  contains 21 wineries, some of the oldest in Quebec, and produces 60% of Quebec’s wine production. These wines are made from cold climate grapes, Frontenac and Marquette for reds; Seyval Blanc and Vidal Blanc for whites. Ice wine is prevalent as is hard cider, even iced apple cider. Wine lovers who reside in Vermont and northern New York have easy access to the region, but I'd recommend the area for a long weekend for those who require more travel. I visited the region during a day trip from Montreal, basically an hour drive, and visited three wineries. And of course, theCompass Winery, Brewery, Distillery Locator Mobile App, guided us to these wineries.

Vignoble de L'Orpailleur
 
One of Quebec's oldest wineries, L'Orpailleur (The Goldseeker) was founded in 1981 with the first wines available for sale in 1985. This visit was my first chance viewing actual cold climate vineyard operations in practice, such as hilling where the graft between rootstock and vine is covered with soil. This practice was introduced to the Finger Lakes by Dr. Frank and which most Finger Lakes wineries still implement.   The winery's portfolio ranges from sparkling wine to ice wine with white, orange, rosé, and red wines in between. One of their original wines was the L’Orpailleur Blanc ($15) a 50-50 blend of Seyval Blanc and Vidal Blanc. This was one of my favorites during our visit, it is simple, yet complex with a big aroma and citrus flavors. The two sister wines, L’Orpailleur Rosé ($15) and L’Orpailleur Rouge ($15) where both nice values with the Seyval Noir rosé exposing bright berry flavors and the Frontenac red wine boasting mellow dark fruit with plenty of fresh acids on the tail.

Aging La Part Des Anges de L’Orpailleur

The most interesting wine was their La Part Des Anges de L’Orpailleur ($18), 100% Seyval Blanc where the wine is matured in demi-john containers "subjected to the rigors of our Québec’s climate".  This is a succulent wine which obtains an oak character of honey and caramel mixed with the citrus flavor of the grape.

The L’Orpailleur Réserve ($17) and L’Orpailleur Ice Wine ($29) were other favorites within our party with the first an 80-20 blend of Seyval and Vidal and the later 100% Vidal Blanc. The Reserve featured a maple character whereas the Ice Wine was somewhat tropical.

Grapes protected from birds,
ready for the freeze

Hilling up the graft

During our next visit I want to allocate more time in order to take one of their guided tours - particularly the Effervescence tour where one participant gets to sabre a L’Orpailleur Brut bottle.

UNION LIBRE cidre & vin

Located virtually across the road from L'Orpailleur on Godbout Rue, this operation specializes in unique hard ciders:  Fire Cider, Fortified Fire Cider, and Ice Cider. The process for the Fire Cider involves slowly heating Spartan and Empire apple must and collecting the concentrate after water evaporation. The resulting must is usually one quarter of the original quantity. This "fired" must is then fermented in stainless steel with a portion fortified with apple brandy and aged in oak for the Fortified Fire Cider. While both are delicious, the later is outstanding - part juicy apple flavors, part creamy, and finishing with roundness and smooth.

On the other side of the process, the Ice Cider is made using 90% natural Cryoconcentration and 10% Cryoextraction. The later process involves harvesting the Cortland, Empire, Spartan, McIntosh apples in December and January and pressing the frozen apples to obtain the concentrated juice. On the other hand, natural Cryoconcentration involves harvesting and pressing the same apple varieties when the apples are ripe and then leaving the must outside to freeze. Only 30% of the initial must will have the expected concentration and will be used during fermentation.  Honey envelops the apple and pear flavors, balanced by strong acids in this excellent ice wine.


Vignoble les Trois Clochers

One of the more cozier stops on the wine trail, this winery provided our first glimpse of Dunham Village and the village's three steeples. The estate vineyard is rather small at 4 hectare, but features a plethora of grape varieties: Seyval Blanc, Vidal, Geisenheim 318 and 322, Frontenac gris, Maréchal-Foch, Chancelor, Lucie-Kulhman, Léon-Milot, Sabrevois, and Frontenac. The winery produces three dry wines, one Port-styled wine, and one Ice Wine - the Cuvée Nadège, named after co-owner Nadège Marion. The Ice Wine is made from frozen Vidal grapes whereas the Port-styled Les copains d’abord wine is made from 100% Seyval Blanc in order to obtain a Vermouth like aperitif. The dry rosé Le Métis is a blend of Seyval Noir, Sabrevois and Chambourcin and the red Boisé wine is a medium bodied blend of five varieties (Maréchal-Foch, Chancelor, Frontenac, Léon-Millot, Lucie Khulmann). But once again I preferred the simpler Seyval Blanc White Wine ($13). The winery also produce an oaked version of this wine, but for me, the refreshing apple flavors excelled unoaked. 

Je adore le vin du Québec.

Wine Trails: New York's Adirondack Coast Wine Trail

Last month I had a chance to drive through the Adirondack Coast Wine Trail, located in extreme northern New York along Route I87. The wine trail consists of seven wineries and cideries centered around scenic Plattsburgh.  The wineries specialize in very cold climate hybrid and labrusca grapes such as Vignoles, Catawba, Niagara, Steuben, Frontenac, Marquette, and Leon Millot. These and other grapes are also sourced from other New York AVAs with most wines labeled as New York wine.

During my drive I only had time for one spot and chose the Adirondack Cider Company housed in ELFS Farm Winery. I chose cider because I was already close to the Canadian limit for bringing alcohol into the country (basically one bottle of wine) and thought I could add a few bottles of cider without complaint. The Adirondack Cider Company produces hard cider completely from local Champlain Valley apples and their Mac cider is evidently a nice expression of these apples. This cider is off-dry with plenty of acids. I was all over the Two Heros Bourbon Barrel Hard Cider which was "crafted in honor of the great heroes of the Battle of Plattsburgh. On September 11, 1814 Brigadier General Alexander Macomb and Master Commandant Thomas Macdonough defeated the British Armies attack on Plattsburgh both earning them Congressional Gold Medals". This cider also celebrates the resurrection of ELFS Winery after a devastating fire a few years before. This cider is made dry and then aged in Kentucky bourbon barrels. The vanilla blends seamlessly with the tart apple flavors retaining both acids and flavors. Nicely done. Hid-In-Pines Vineyard was strongly recommended so that will be the first stop on my next visit. Cheers.


Wineries & Cideries

• Adirondack Cider Company
• Amazing Grace Vineyard and Winery
• The Champlain Wine Company
• ELFS Farm Winery & Cider Mill
• Everett Orchards
• Hid-In-Pines Vineyard
• Vesco Ridge Vineyards

Breweries

• Adirondack Pub and Brewery
• Ausable Brewing Company
• Great Adirondack Brewing Company
• The Lake Placid Pub and Brewery
• Livingood's Restaurant & Brewery
• Paradox Brewery
• Plattsburgh Brewing Co.
• Valcour Brewing Company

In Defense of Red Hybrids - Vermont's Lincoln Peak Marquette

During the very first panel discussion at the 2015 Wine Bloggers Conference Madeline Puckette, the Content Director, Wine Folly: The Essential Guide to Wine, generated controversy by asking the Introduction to the Finger Lakes Wine Country panel "Why do hybrids suck?". Many of us east coast and cold climate drinkers were taken aback. Too bad Doug Frost wasn't available, but the panel did an excellent job responding, particular MS Christopher Bates. He focused on winemaking and mentioned that there are lousy wines made from vinifera grapes as well as lousy wines made from other grape species. However, he continued, there are plenty of examples of excellent wines made using non-vinifera species. He then suggested we sample several white hybrids such as Vidal, Seyval, Traminette, and Vignoles. But notice the absence of any mention of red hybrids. A couple days later during the post conference excursion to Cayuga Lake, Jon Crupp owner of the Thirsty Owl Wine Company mentioned that he preferred white French Hybrids over their red counterparts. So where's the love for red hybrids*? Fortunately several of us at the conference where able to taste wines from two excellent red hybrid grapes, Hudson-Chatham Winery Baco Noir (courtesy of Elizabeth Smith, the TravelWineChick) and Marquette from Shelburne Vineyard and Lincoln Peak Winery  - provided by Todd Trzaskos (author of Wines of Vermont).  The Baco requires it own post, so for now let's examine the Marquette grape.


It was released by the University of Minnesota in 2006 and "originated from a cross of MN 1094, a complex hybrid of Vitis riparia, Vitis vinifera, and other Vitis species; with Ravat 262". One of it's grandparents is Pinot Noir and a great grandparent is Carmine (an offspring of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon). According to Trzaskos, Marquette came to Vermont before its official release and Chris Granstrom, owner of Lincoln Peak, was one of its first proponents. The grape is hardy at 36 degrees below zero and is resistant to "downy mildew, powdery mildew, and black rot". One shortcoming, the grape has an early bud break leaving it vulnerable to late spring frosts.

The 2013 Lincoln Peak Marquette is a big wine; particularly when noting it's cold climate source. It starts with a bit of jamminess in the aroma which blows off which leads to a full bodied, dark cherry, gummy bear flavor. It finishes strong with soft tannins, plenty of acids, and a bit of spice. At the conference I recall discussing this wine with Luiz Alberto (The Wine Hub) and we agreed that it was an excellent wine, not just as simply a Marquette wine, but for any wine. Carlo Devito, proprietor of  Hudson-Chatham, is also a fan responding "Immense achievement. Almost has a warm climate feel. Lovely". And Todd Trzaskos states, "Marquette is like Zweigelt in its lighter more bramble form, while bigger versions more like Mencia or Grenache... Any way around, a wine this big from cold climate vines is a real achievement".

Interestingly I had an email exchange with Puckette after the conference regarding her question and she mentioned Zweigelt, along with Seyval Blanc and Pinotage, as hybrids that have a poor reputation. She continued that hybrids are just a little misunderstood. Noting the irony of her first statement, I concur immensely with her second. Cheers to hybrids, both the red and white varieties.

* I'm referring to both French Hybrids and American cold climate grape varieties when using the term hybrids.

Book Review: "Wines of Vermont"

I have a soft spot for wine books that focus on the history of wine within a specific state *, so I was very enthusiastic about purchasing the recently published Wines of Vermont written by Todd Trzaskos. Full disclaimer, Todd is a friend that I've known for a number of years. And on occasion he has provided me with a couple of his excellent homemade wines that Deirdre Heekin mentions in the book's forward. That being said, this is an excellent resource, not only with it's portrayal of the past and present wine environment in Vermont, but more importantly, expanding upon the Green Mountain States' geography, history, culture, and agricultural industry. It's this expanded coverage which separates Wines of Vermont from similar books and provides an underlying basis for the rise of Vermont's unique wine culture. 

theCompass view of
Vermont's 30+
wineries & cider houses

The book starts with a detailed review of Vermont's geography from the birth of it's mountains, to the limestone soils, to the consequences of past glacier activity. One interesting fact is that the Taconic and Green Mountain ranges "represent the eroded remains of some of the first mountains on earth...".  Part II delves into Vermont's wine culture, from it's shared heritage with Quebec to the rise of the Farm to Table movement. Part III augments the Farm to Table culture by describing the plethora of fruit agricultural products grown in Vermont, finishing with a detailed description of wine grapes. Pay close attention to the Minnesota breeds. Part IV encompasses the Farmers and Winemakers who gave birth to and advanced the Vermont wine industry. I had expected the book to start with this topic, but by holding back this information, Trzaskos provides the reader with a clearer understanding of the risks and rewards experienced by these industrious entrepreneurs.  Who in their right mind would plant Pinot Noir in the shores of Lake Champlain? Or bases their winery operation on native yeast fermented Marquette and La Crescent?  The Wines of Vermont reveals this information and much more and forces the reader to admire and appreciate "the people from the little state of Vermont".

* Two recent books are Richard Leahy's Beyond Jefferson's Vines: The Evolution of Quality Wine in Virginia and Regina McCarthy's Maryland Wine: A Full-Bodied History (American Palate).